Ajay Maken said he has opted out of the race.The Delhi Congress, which has been functioning without a head after former chief Sheila Dikshit passed away on July 20, is expected to get a new leader this week. Party sources said top leaders of the party have shortlisted four candidates — two of whom are among the old horses of the party while the others are from the younger generation.
Party president Sonia Gandhi is likely to meet the All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary and in-charge of Delhi unit, P C Chacko, this week. “The discussion is between old versus new leaders. The president has met many of them to understand their vision for the party’s performance in the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls. I will be meeting her this week and the decision will be surely taken before the weekend,” Chacko told The Indian Express.
Earlier, the names of former Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) chief Ajay Maken, Arvinder Singh Lovely and J P Aggarwal, and the three working presidents — Rajesh Lilothia, Devender Yadav, Haroon Yusuf — were making the rounds for the coveted post. Senior leaders said that Dikshit’s son Sandeep Dikshit was also in the race.
When asked, Maken said he has no plan to take over as the DPCC chief. “Even If I am asked to, I will not head the party. I will continue to work as a party worker and expose AAP and BJP government’s malicious plans. I had resigned from the post of DPCC president even though the vote share had improved during that time,” he told The Indian Express.
In a press conference earlier this week, Maken had alleged that the AAP government was “misleading” citizens by claiming that power tariffs in the national capital were lowest in the country. He also accused the Delhi government of benefitting the power discoms through a hike in tariff as well as by proving power subsidy.
“The party is losing crucial time in Delhi in the absence of a leader. AAP and BJP have already started work by meeting people and announcing fancy initiatives. The performance of our party improved in the Lok Sabha polls. Therefore, the hopes are higher,” said a senior party leader.
